This year has been a wild one for Fairtrade, with the campaign to Keep KitKat Fairtrade dominating the summer.
Fairtrade supporters and campaigners like you were vitally important to my campaign and I want to thank you for all your support in this most difficult of years.
So I'm working with fair trade groups around the UK to create a programme of arts events and activities which will happen in Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 - 22 February to 7 March.
This will be a grassroots community event organised by volunteers and campaigners and all our events will be free to attend so we can reach as big an audience as possible and spread the great news about Fairtrade. We want to educate, inspire and entertain, to help us all feel connected.
From poetry to photography, with chocolate truffle making workshops from Bradford and music from Ghana, and much, much more we're celebrating all the great work Fairtrade is doing with your help. You can get involved with craft, dance and cooking workshops and our very own Fairtrade version of Channel 4 hit show Taskmaster.
Keep an eye on the Facebook event page for more details as they are confirmed
With events all throughout the fortnight, this will be a great festival which I'm sure you'll love, and I have one more favour to ask: While most of our contributors are happy and able to offer their time on a voluntary basis, some of the people who are working to make this happen are not in a position to work for free, and because this is fair trade, I hope you agree that they shouldn't have to. We don’t want to exclude contributors from the low income countries where Fairtrade works, or marginalised people here in the UK just because they can’t afford to give their skills for free.
So I'm asking if you are able to spare a few pounds to donate to our crowdfunding page to help make the festival happen.
We need to raise £500 to put on around ten events - which I think is a bargain.
If you agree, you can help by donating to the crowdfunder, or spread the word by sharing our plans on social media.
Thank you for all your support and help for Fairtrade farmers and workers this year - let's continue to spread the message in 2021 and beyond.
Merry Christmas and I hope to connect with you all at our festival in 2021!